Restoration of Historic Carved Rope Wooden Moldings on Window Frames
In 2005, the Governor’s mansion of Des Moine embarked on a massive restoration of the building, which is 18,000’. The building is magnificent, and we just don’t build like this anymore. If you zoom in to the windows, you can see the carved wooden arch overlays I recreated to duplicate the originals. ( Photo by Perry Beeman/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Hundreds of people were hired to bring back the historic beauty of the original building which had lost some of its luster. The main team was a construction contractor, and they set about restoring the windows. When it came time to address the old panes, they quickly realized they needed a specialist in fine woodworking. To re-do the original wood carved rope moldings around the top frames of the windows, they needed someone with an eye for detail, who could execute the complicated, intricate design, and yet also produce them as if it was a production line at a factory. I was contacted by an old friend who knew my fine woodworking s...